The Ospreys have rested skipper Alun Wyn Jones for tomorrow night's Heineken Cup clash with Castres at the Liberty Stadium.

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Steve Tandy's side are unable to make the latter stages after suffering defeats to Leinster, Northampton and the French champions and Jones takes a rest as a result.

His namesake Ryan Jones will lead the side from No. 8 with fellow Wales internationals Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard, Aaron Jarvis, Ian Evans, James King and Justin Tipuric joining him in the pack.

Sam Davies makes his first Heineken Cup start for the region at full back.

"It was a tough evening out in Castres last weekend," said Tandy as he looked back on the 15-9 loss to last season's Top 14 winners.

"Although we were obviously disappointed to come away with just a point, there was a lot we could take out of the game and use to prepare for Friday night.

"The circumstances going into the game were obviously very difficult but it was pleasing to see a young and pretty inexperienced team pushing the French champions to the limit. The commitment, defensive effort and the resilience shown was first rate to keep us in the game and we very nearly pinched it at the end."

The Ospreys, like the rest of the regions, have a busy period coming up with Tandy well prepared for the challenge ahead.

"Going into these games on the back of four tough, physical, autumn internationals, straight into two Heineken Cup games, three Welsh derbies and then Europe again in January, it's a big ask for certain players to go right through," he said.

"We have to manage players to ensure they are physically able to cope with the workload. That was why Richard Hibbard started on the bench last weekend and why Alun Wyn will sit out Friday night.

"We need to ensure we have these boys available for the longer haul. The flipside of this is that we get some valuable game time for boys coming through the squad.

"We had a great afternoon here at the Liberty 12 months ago in similar circumstances against Toulouse and that will be the target on Friday night. With big Welsh derbies coming up, it's important we get things right on the field and build some momentum with some good performances in front of what we hope will be some big crowds, not only on Friday, but against the Scarlets and Northampton next month."